Custodians also help with setting up special events. Hylton says that Maintenance & Operations work with the limited help they have because they are short on staff; two open positions are available.

     Custodians are consistent workers and are always on top of their work. They work hard to satisfy the student and faculty needs. VVC is fortunate to have our dedicated custodians. “All custodians out here work very hard,” said Miller and it shows.

 

 

 

 

 

A day in the life of a custodian

     When we stop for a snack from a vending machine, they are always full. When we sit out on the grass by the lake, trash isn’t lying around. When we walk around campus we are lucky enough to not have gum stuck on the bottom of our shoes. When we sit down at the tables in the Student Activities Center to have a meal, the area is clean.

     Our campus doesn’t stay clean by itself. We often don’t think about the people who work hard to make our campus a nice-looking and cleaner place to be. It’s those hard working people that are here day in and day out; they are the custodians.

     Custodian Samuel S. Miller can be seen in the food court, restrooms, along the stairs and everywhere throughout the SAC. Miller is a full-time custodian at Victor Valley College and is in his eighth

year at work.

     “It’s nuts sometimes,” said Miller of how the atmosphere can get in the SAC. He says that there are students who act immaturely; the ones throwing things off the ledges or against the window; and he’s the one cleaning up those messes left behind. Miller says that people think his job is just emptying trashcans, but there are many responsibilities for being a custodian.

     Miller works hard not only for the students but for faculty as well. Miller takes his job with high standards, saying that there isn’t anything he’s ashamed of — the work has to be done.

     Full-time student Elaine Vasquez works as a part-time custodian at VVC. She helps

with the cleaning in the SAC and picks up trash around campus. Miller jokes that Vasquez’s least favorite part about being a custodian is working with him, but Vasquez says, “I like working here.” 

     There are 16 custodians working at VVC. They are not only there from the time the campus opens, but after closing hours working the graveyard shift. Director of Maintenance & Operations Chris Hylton said that custodians are “responsible for 39, 000 square feet” of campus cleaning.

     Custodians do full top to bottom cleaning including all the buildings and classrooms; sweeping, mopping, dusting, restocking supplies for classrooms and so forth.

A hobby that pays in various ways

     Eccentric hobbies bring students to the Internet to buy, sell and trade items that would otherwise be difficult to deal with. Books aren’t the only items students wheel and deal on sites such as eBay. Motorcycle parts, collector Nike shoes, foreign films and Roman sandals are just a few examples of what students look to trade.

     Some students use the Internet to sell for profit while others do it to get rid of things they are having second thoughts about. Students also buy online to get oddball products that are expensive or hard to find in our local area.

     Victor Valley College

student, Diana Salazar said, “I buy foreign films and stuff that I can’t get in America.” Storszeck, a foreign film directed by Verner Herzog, would have cost Salazar $30  in America but got it on eBay for about $23 including shipping and handling.

     When it comes to turning a profit, VVC student Uswin Wood is a professional, “I built custom figurines for about $20 and sold them for $200 to $300.”

     On occasion, the Internet doesn’t turn all profit according to Josh Justice, “Sometimes I just re-sell and rarely make my money back, usually only about $20 average. I don’t do it for the money.”

     Important purchase reminders when using eBay are to “always look at shipping costs and make sure

your money converts,” said Salazar. Also, eBay requires fees from sellers, which can be frustrating, but as far as security goes, “eBay has legal protection especially if you use Pay-Pal which protects the buyer,” said Justice.

     Depending on what item is being sold, markets will differ. Wood said, “The market is like the stock market, it goes up and goes down,” while Jusitice said, “It doesn’t matter. People want to buy crap all the time.”